No Such Thing as Fate
by Puppets Blizzt
Summary: One-shot. "There is no such thing as fate." Now, he wasn't so sure. Was it not fate that caused the Lorelai-Chris break up, giving him his second chance? Was it not fate that brought them together? Set during Bon Voyage.


**Second oneshot in two days! oo:**

**Another JavaJunkie (go figure, eh?) This time, based off of something Luke said in Season 4, "Chicken or Beef?," but set in Season 7's "Bon Voyage." You'll see what I mean when you read it! (:**

**At the moment, this story is a one-shot. However, as time passes, I _might _consider making it a two-shot. We'll see.**

**So read and review, please! ^^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, okay? I don't know what would make you think I do. x)**

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Three years ago, Luke had lied to Lorelai.

Three years ago, he thought he had been right.

And three years ago, he had said "there is no such thing as fate."

He remembered that day vividly; Lorelai and Rory had come into his diner. They were discussing Dean's wedding, of which they had been invited to after Dean had run into Rory on the streets. They had decided it was fate that caused Rory to leave Lane's house and run into her former flame. When they asked Luke for his opinion on fate, he told them fate did not exist.

But now… now he wasn't so sure. Was it not fate that the Lorelai-Jason affair ended as he began to heal himself with his self-help tapes, giving him the opportunity he sought for? Was it not fate that brought them together? And wasn't it fate that caused the Lorelai Gilmore and Christopher Hayden divorce that gave him his second chance?

It was. It was fate that led Lorelai to him eleven years ago; fate that guided her to his diner in a wild craze for coffee. And here, Fate acted again, her wings bright with the dawn of a new hope for Luke. She had arranged the whole thing; the perfect scenario in which Luke could plan a surprise party for the two Gilmores who meant so much to him – who had played such a vital role in his Stars Hollow life. It was perfect; he could give Rory the proper farewell she deserved, and he could satisfy Lorelai at the same time.

But fate had been cruel, too. She had broken them up, forbade them from getting back together, caused the Danes man so much hurt and loneliness… and now she was raining on her own parade. Literally. Rory's new job on the campaign trail for Barack Obama meant she had to be ready to leave in three days – one, now. Fate had done this; scored Rory a job that caused her to leave so quickly. For it meant that Luke could do something so big, he might be able to make up for past mistakes. But the coming rain would surely stunt the party, would it not? So Luke had thought. But he had devised a solution, one that was sure to please Lorelai.

Rory, her daughter sixteen years her junior, was leaving the next morning. That left little time to throw the party the Gilmores had wanted and cancelled a lot of the plans the two had devised for the summer. Luke figured a surprise party would make up for it, and secretly went to Sookie, Lorelai's best friend who happened to co-own the Dragonfly with her, and the two set the plan in motion.

Now, he worked furiously at the tarps and tents, sewing them together with his fishing line. It must have been one in the morning, if not earlier. It had to be earlier by now; the sun had gone down hours ago. He checked his watch. Sure enough, his golden watch read three. He wiped his brown with his forearm and let out a tired sigh.

But his mind was set, the task firm in his head. He stepped back for a moment, examining the massively large tent he was so furiously working on. Was this all really worth it?

As he asked himself this, Lorelai flashed in his mind. Her smiling face when they were together; bright enough to replace the sun. This was the reaction he expected to get after the party, and the face he kept permanently in his mind.

He narrowed his eyes with a new inspiration in mind and went back to work.

He was operating secretly; no one really knew who was behind the surprise party aside from Sookie. Most thought it was her idea, but they both knew it wasn't. It was Luke's idea; Luke's idea to surprise mother and daughter with only the best party a kid could ask for before going off to face the world. He only hoped fate would intervene and make Lorelai aware of the true mastermind.

As daylight approached, he hurried the tent outside. With help from the other Stars Hollow men, they set up the giant tarp aimed to shield the tables from the rain. They got the tent up just in time, the rain beginning to fall just moments after the hooked it up. The guests gathered under the tent as the rain thickened and waited for Lorelai and Rory to drive past the square. No doubt they would; the whole town had agreed not to answer their phones so that the Gilmore duo would drive curiously to Luke's. And upon doing so, they would see the party. Standing at the front of the tent crowd stood those closest to Rory and Lorelai: Sookie, Jackson, Lane, Zack, Brian, Kirk, Lulu, Michel, Morey, Babette, Gypsy, Patty, Taylor, and, of course, Luke.

"Look!" a voice in the crowd cried, pointing down the street. Lorelai's jeep pulled up on the square. The rain made it impossible to see their initial reactions to the party, but it was safe to say that they were thoroughly surprised. Zack and Jackson ran out with umbrellas to meet the two and hurried them to the safety of the tent. As the umbrella dropped from over her head, Rory gaped in awe. Lorelai already seemed on the brink of tears, and Luke longed to embrace her, to comfort her, tell her that Rory wasn't going away forever. He longed to hold her in his arms forever, never to let her get away again. But he watched idly as her gaze switched from face to face, a small smile creeping on her face. Mother and daughter shared several glances, Rory struggling to find the proper words.

"Wow," she breathed, "This is – I – _wow_," she stammered. A handful of people chuckled.

Luke smiled, "Congratulations, Rory."

The younger Gilmore flashed him a thankful smile. A small circle crowded around Rory, where a wave of 'congratulations' ensued. After Rory donned Kirk's sash – made, grossly, from his mother's nighties – the partying really began.

Luke manned the food station, where he served meals to the guests happily. He kept one eye on the Gilmores, however, who were chatting with what seemed like every Stars Hollow citizen who bothered to show up. After a while, Luke notified Sookie and slipped away from the party to pick something up from the diner. He slipped inside and rummaged through the drawers behind the counter. He paused, his hand brushing over the small box containing the necklace he had picked up from Liz's jewelry franchise. He stared at the box, thinking. He had let it sit there for days, unwilling to confront Lorelai and give it to her. But now he showed almost no fear. He plucked the box from the drawer and slid it into his back pocket. Then, he picked up a bag off the counter and headed back to the party.

He closed the door as he left, descending the steps with the bag in hand. He looked up and saw Lorelai approaching. She was walking towards him determinedly, but he could tell she was still unsure. So she knew; Sookie had spilled. Why else would she be coming to talk to him? After everything, she would have rather avoided him. That is, if she hadn't known Luke planned the party. But she did know.

So here she was. Was she going to apologize? No, she had already done that in the hay bale maze. So what?

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Luke echoed.

"Thank you," Lorelai said.

He shrugged, "Ahh, it's… no big deal."

But on the contrary, it was a big deal. And Lorelai knew that.

"Luke," she breathed in disbelief, shaking her head ever so slightly.

He started his reply, but no words came out. As he struggled to find them, Lorelai blinked up at him, her bright eyes soft.

"I just… like to see you happy," he admitted finally.

No, he _loved _to see her happy.

He _lived _to see her happy – to be the one to cause her happiness.

One of the many reasons he put up with her crazy ways for eleven long years. Even if it pained him, he made sure she was happy. The chuppah was proof enough of that. She was going to marry Max Medina, and Luke, despite hating the man and wishing he were in his shoes, made a chuppah for them to stand under. And though the relationship didn't last, the gift had made Lorelai happy. Was that fate, too? The ending of the Lorelai-Max love affair? It was almost a wedding – Lorelai Gilmore had almost married her daughter's teacher. Almost. But she had bolted. As much as she wanted to love Max, she couldn't. So, fate had been acting from the start. From day one, fate had been there to watch over Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes. From day one, fate knew the java junkie and the diner owner were destined to be together. In fact, he was sure fate knew that the day Lorelai Gilmore stepped into his diner the second time, the day after she had written so clearly on his paper that if he gave her coffee, she would go away. But she hadn't gone away, had she? She had stayed. For eleven long years, she had stayed.

Without a word, he stepped towards her. He dropped the bag instantly, letting it fall quickly to the ground. Simultaneously, Lorelai stepped towards him. For a moment, Luke's heart raced. He considered stepping back, but what came next happened so fast there was little he could do. Before he had time to react, he was kissing her. And she was kissing him. One arm slid around her waist while the other wrapped around her neck, gently pulling her closer. Lorelai's hand roamed his body; first they settled on his shoulder, and then found a place on his waist. He kissed her passionately, and for a moment he felt like they were the only two people left on earth.

It had seemed like the graduation party had been forgotten, but as they finally broke apart it was clear it had not been lost.

"I uh… better get back to – to the party," Lorelai stammered.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. But as Lorelai turned away, he grabbed her wrist. With his free hand, he produced the red box from his pocket and handed it to her. Shocked, Lorelai gasped and took the box.

"Luke, I—" she started, but Luke cut her off.

"Liz made some new jewelry. I saw it and… I dunno. I thought it would look nice… on you," he stumbled over the last few words.

She picked the necklace up out of the box and held it in her hands.

"It's beautiful," she remarked.

"Yeah, I thought so too."

With Luke's help, Lorelai put on the necklace.

"Thanks," she said.

Luke only nodded, "sure."

"So, uh. Better get back to that party."

Lorelai nodded her agreement. She linked her arm around Luke's, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment. Luke stood silently, at a loss for words. Of course, everything couldn't be fixed so easily, but they were back on track. They were back together. Wasn't that what mattered? Together, the two set off down the street towards the square.

As they approached, a few heads turned their way. They were smiling, glad that "___Luke table_-for-___one Danes_" and "Lorelai I'm-sorry-can-I-get-an-industrial-forklift-for-my-emotional-baggage Gilmore" were back together at last. Everything was as it should be.

Three years ago there was no such thing as fate for Lucas Danes.

Three years ago, there was no room for fate in Luke Danes's life.

But now things were changing. _Time _was changing.

And what used to be never was.

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**So, the ending is kinda crappy.**

**But hey, I love everything else. For the most part. **

**Love it? Hate it? **

**Review it anyways, please. :33 **


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